


the way to a man's heart is through his minecraft faction

by alfredolover119



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Coffee Shops, Crack Treated Seriously, Eventual Romance, First Meetings, Getting Together, Kinda, M/M, Minecraft, Mutual Pining, Online Friendship, Pre-Relationship, Self-Discovery, attorney in a hurry, gary is in law school, miah is trying to be a broker, nerdy gary, there i said it, they meet on a minecraft server, too seriously smh, video games - Freeform, yeah yeah yeah i know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:01:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24659554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alfredolover119/pseuds/alfredolover119
Summary: Gary didn’t know why he did it, he just did. The definition of "it" is ~used to refer to a thing previously mentioned or easily identified.~ However, in this specific instance, "it" was that he bought a game meant for 12-year-olds. No, not Fortnite. Minecraft.
Relationships: Gary Goldstein/Man in a Hurry
Comments: 40
Kudos: 52





	1. chaos really does reign

**Author's Note:**

> sorry not sorry ugh,, thank you nicool for reading over this and letting me scream about attorney in a hurry. hatchetpiss rats were also very supportive.
> 
> ((update for anyone reading this: as of february 10th, 2021, i have cancelled the intended sequel for this fic and plan on just finishing up the story line with a couple more chapters here :^))

Gary didn’t know why he did it, he just did. The definition of "it" is _used to refer to a thing previously mentioned or easily identified._ However, in this specific instance, "it" was that he bought a game meant for 12-year-olds. No, not Fortnite. Minecraft. Maybe the 12-year-old thing was a bitter exaggeration. Gary knew approximately zero 12-year-olds who actually played Minecraft. On that note, he actually didn't know _any_ 12-year-olds.

He had a free day with no classes and had previously promised his mother that he would take breaks occasionally. She was worried he might keel over from stress. He tried to explain to her that law school wasn’t _that_ bad, but she insisted. He could lie to her, but where would that put him? Probably guilty about lying to his mom. 

So, here he was. Minecraft. He occasionally watched people play it on YouTube; the videos were very relaxing after a long day of studying. He joined a private world first to get used to the controls. He soon joined a server, one his favorite YouTuber frequented. 

He was instantly overwhelmed. There weren’t a lot of people online at the moment; Gary realized then that it was two in the morning. Law school really messed with a man’s internal clock. Even with almost no people online, there was still so much to do. Factions, creative, survival games, hide and seek… And that was only some of it! Gary decided he would try factions, since it was most like normal Minecraft. Normal was good.

While he was typing in the commands to create his faction, someone killed him. It wouldn’t have bothered him that much, but every _single_ time he spawned in, the same guy killed him. It sucked. Shouldn’t the server have a protective area, or something? Ugh. He decided he would just have to handle the situation himself.

**gg_gentleman:** hey wtf

**CH40S_R31GNS:** haha noooob

_gg_gentleman was slain by CH40S_R31GNS_

**gg_gentleman:** i may be a noob, but at least i have a life. there’s nobody in ur faction, yet u’ve spent how long getting all that armor?

_gg_gentleman was slain by CH40S_R31GNS_

**CH40S_R31GNS:** it’s a ####### kit, #######

_gg_gentleman was slain by CH40S_R31GNS_

**gg_gentleman:** why r u so aggressive

**CH40S_R31GNS:** it’s just in my nature ig

_gg_gentleman was slain by CH40S_R31GNS_

**gg_gentleman:** hey

**_CH40S_R31GNS_ ** _has invited you to join “kachow”. Reply in the next 60 seconds with [/f join kachow] to join their faction._

**gg_gentleman:** is this an attempt at peace

_gg_gentleman was slain by CH40S_R31GNS_

**CH40S_R31GNS:** no, it’s an attempt to prove you wrong

_You have joined the faction ‘kachow’. Use [/f help] for more information._

**gg_gentleman:** this is very suspicious... dude

Well, _that_ was something. Gary now had an overpowered enemy-turned-ally. Hm. As he was teleporting to the base, he realized that, in real life, his shoulders were tense and his eyebrows were knitted. Wow. He was really getting too far into this game.

When he finally got to the base, he was surprised to see it wasn’t actually that big. The whole base was underground, and there were three rooms: a bedroom, a chest-room, and a fully functional farm. However small it was, though, Gary saw lots of room for potential… Not that he would be online enough to see that happen- busy law student life, and all. He was only online right now to de-stress, and it obviously wasn’t working. At least he could tell his mom he had tried.

**CH40S_R31GNS:** whaddya think

**gg_gentleman:** i think…

**gg_gentleman:** it is night and i do not have a bed. do u have an extra?

**CH40S_R31GNS:** it’s a faction. you can’t sleep in factions.

**gg_gentleman:** sorry, i am a noob. can i have a bed anyway? it would make me feel better.

**CH40S_R31GNS:** ugh. fine. it’s in the bedroom- you’ll have to dig out your own room at some point. 

When Gary reached the “bedroom”, he found that his bed was a few blocks away from the preexisting bed. Also, it was white. He didn’t even get a fun color? Lame. He definitely only asked for the bed to bother his new companion, so he guessed the bed shouldn’t have bothered him that badly, but it did. He supposed he would have to dye it himself, some day.

 _Time flies when you’re having fun_ , and Gary soon found that his phone was saying it was five in the morning. Jesus, he really needed to get a life. Had he seriously been playing _Minecraft_ for three hours without even realizing it? As he told his "friend", Jeremiah, good night, he was very satisfied in the fact that he could say he had a friend. Even if it was over Minecraft. The thought of “Minecraft friend” made him sigh loudly. Better than no friends at all, he supposed.

  
  


Gary didn’t wake until almost noon the next day. He had classes all afternoon, but he found himself zoning out more and more frequently as the day went on. Sometimes his thoughts were block-related, whether it be more plans for the base or just about Jeremiah. In the several hours they had been playing together, he had learned almost nothing about the guy. His name was Jeremiah. He had real money to waste on Minecraft servers. Gary didn’t know how old he was, didn’t know how long he had been playing Minecraft, nothing. Then again, he didn’t really know Minecraft etiquette for making friends. Do people even make friends in Minecraft, or was he taking Jeremiah’s intentions for more than they were? Ugh. Who would’ve thought Minecraft relationships would be this difficult? Certainly not Gary.

When he finally got home that day, he was exhausted. He intended to get on for a minute to see if Jeremiah was online, so he could tell him he couldn’t be on for long. Jeremiah wasn’t online, but he had left a sign between their beds. The sign read, “add me on discord- miah #8008.” 

This would have been simple enough, but Gary didn’t even know what Discord was. Google told him it was “Chat for Communities and Friends.” Was he really going to start using a whole new platform to start talking to this guy? Then he remembered how he was zoning out in class thinking about him. Maybe that would _stop_ if he got to know him better. He was in too much student loan debt to not be paying attention in class. He downloaded the app onto his phone and, after some confusion while creating his account, added Jeremiah. He wondered how much Jeremiah would bully him if he told him it took him ten minutes to figure out how to add him. Gary decided not to find out.

Jeremiah accepted his friend request within seconds and messaged him.

**miah:** lmao why don’t you have a pfp

**gg_gentleman:** It’s for aesthetic.

**miah:** aesthetic my ass... did you download discord just to talk to me???

**gg_gentleman:** A real man never tells his secrets.

**gg_gentleman:** But yes. Yes, I did.

**miah:** i thought u might go for a mysterious approach, but no, ur just a dumbass

**gg_gentleman:** Aw, and I thought we were friends, but no, you’re just an asshole.

**miah:** that’s not even a good comeback tf?? anyway, we r friends. i accepted ur friend req and everything

**gg_gentleman:** Haha, very funny. How am I supposed to be friends with you if I don’t know anything about you?

**miah:** u know loads about me! like, my name is jeremiah, and maybe u’ve deduced by my username that sometimes people call me miah. u did figure that out, right?

**gg_gentleman:** …

**miah:** oook. well, anyway, i could say the same about u. all i know is that ur name is gary, and ur awful at mc,, and apparently technologically incapable if u cant figure out how to change ur pfp.

**gg_goldstein:** Okay, well, I guess I’ll start. I’m Gary, I’m a 23 year old dude who’s currently dying in law school at Yale. 

**miah:** ok

**miah:** well, i guess i’m jeremiah/miah, i’m 24 and live in nyc. i graduated from u of m and now i’m working at a brokerage firm. my hobbies include making fun of lawyers and people who r bad at mc.

As Gary tries to think of a witty reply, he realizes that New York City is only about an hour and a half from Yale, with good traffic. Not that that’s important, of course. There’s also the chance that Jeremiah, _Miah,_ is lying. For some reason, Gary just doesn’t think he is. He seems too honest for that. He has no problem making fun of Gary, and most internet catfish at least _try_ to appear nice. Not that Gary would know for sure though, seeing as this is one of his first actual internet interactions. It wasn’t until now that Gary actually wished he was cultured. Too late. 

They talk for a few more minutes about stuff, college and Minecraft, mainly, before Gary bids him good night. Miah, of course, makes fun of him for going to bed at 9pm, but Gary cannot help that he stayed up the night before playing Minecraft. Gary was really cursing Past Gary for doing that. He was enjoying talking with Miah. 

After a good night’s sleep and a coffee, Gary still did not feel very well-rested. _Why_ on earth had he signed up for an eight a.m. class? Past Gary was really fucking over Current Gary again. Luckily, his schedule was clear for the rest of the day after that. He messaged Miah at ten, but did not receive a response until after twelve.

**miah:** hey, sorry, i was doing work stuff. not that u would know much about real work, fuckin law student..

**gg_gentleman:** For your information, I actually had class this morning! You would probably cry if you had this much work.

**miah:** false, i do not cry

**gg_gentleman:** Ever?

**miah:** i doubt i even cried as a baby, yes

**gg_gentleman:** :thinking:

**miah:** i just dont cry, theres nothing to it. crying is a waste of time for me. just get over stuff and then u dont have to cry

**gg_gentleman:** Is there any scenario you can think of that would make you cry?

**miah:** if i was a puny little law student, id probably cry

**gg_gentleman:** Fuck off

**miah:** ooooh u said a bad word :o

**gg_gentleman:** I am a grown-ass adult and I will use bad words as I see fit

**gg_gentleman:** wait fuck

**miah:** ur hopeless

**gg_gentleman:** I am going to pretend this conversation never happened. Do you want to go on the server?

**miah:** no, because as previously mentioned, i am at work

**gg_gentleman:** Oh. Right. Well, just let me know if you want to play, or something. Later.

**miah:** oh yeah, gary. i’ll for sure let u know when i wanna play with u ;)

Gary turned his phone off. What was _that_ supposed to mean? In hindsight, he had definitely set himself up for that one, but did Jeremiah really have to do _that?_ Maybe he actually was a creep. Gary still doubted that. The more he talked to Miah, the more he was sure he was a good, authentic guy. Well, maybe not good. He liked to make fun of Gary a lot. Gary didn’t actually mind it, though. It felt like the good-natured teasing one might see in a Disney Channel Original Movie between friends. Gary watched lots of Disney Channel Original Movies. 

Around six, Miah finally messaged him saying he was free to go on the server. He also suggested that they call over Discord so they wouldn’t have to use the server chat. Gary hesitated for a moment; he was rather insecure about his lisp and was afraid Miah might make fun of him about it. After a minute, he decided that Miah probably couldn’t say anything he hadn’t already heard. His anxiety was just that, though: anxiety. Miah didn’t say anything about how he sounded, except to make fun of Gary’s microphone quality. 

In fact, if anyone was going to say something about _voice,_ it was likely to be Gary. He was momentarily shocked when he heard Miah’s voice. It was higher pitched than he expected, but also sort of... gruff. He had never heard another person who sounded like that. He loved it. Gary thought he might squeak when Miah said _his_ name. He had said, _“Gary, stop being a fucking idiot and bring me an iron pick.”_ Now, thinking about it, it wasn’t really an attractive thing to say. Gary just liked his voice. He decided not to worry about it, seeing as it was probably just surreal because he was the first person he had talked to online. Definitely. 

After a while, Gary started getting bored of factions. There weren’t that many people on this server, and the point of factions was to be better than other people. He eventually convinced Miah to go on Hypixel with him. Miah insisted he wasn’t very good at mini-games, but Gary just had trouble believing him. They went to Build Battle first. At the end of the round, both of them were at the bottom of the leaderboard. Of course, though, Miah was ahead of him. Gary feared he would never outlive this. They played Bedwars for a while, as well. All fun must come to an end, though, as Gary’s laptop died right when he was about to destroy someone’s bed. He took it as a sign from the universe that it was time for the night to end.

However, Miah just kept talking to him. They talked about everything. What they had done that day, what they were doing tomorrow, the weather… Gary was in the process of telling him about a mock he had coming up when he heard a light snore. Miah had fallen asleep on call. Gary was shocked, seeing as he truly believed Miah never slept. Apparently everyone had to crash sometime, though. It was kind of disgusting that he snored. And maybe a little… No. Gary refused to complete that thought. 

With a sigh, he left the call. Would Miah be embarrassed about this? With what he knew about him so far, he’d probably just pretend it never happened. As he was getting ready for bed, he pondered over the entire, surreal-feeling night. He had never fallen asleep on call with someone before, nor had someone fallen asleep while talking to him. Was he boring? The first time he really talked to Miah, and he fell asleep. Huh. Gary decided that thinking too much about it was probably bad for his self-esteem, one way or another. It was definitely time to call it a night.

  
  


Their friendship continued like this for weeks. After that first call, Gary felt closer to Miah than ever. He could only hope Miah felt the same. When Gary asked if he had any other Minecraft friends, his only response was, _“Life is too fast to keep friends.”_ Gary didn’t know what that meant, but he wondered why Miah had made time for him. He didn’t ask.

They still played Minecraft whenever time permitted, but Gary would soon be heading into finals season, and Miah had recently got a promotion. Though Minecraft days were short, days in real life felt even shorter during those days. School, study, talk to Miah, study, study, talk to Miah, sleep, repeat. That was the way of Gary’s life. The breaks he took from work to talk to Miah made it all so much more bearable. Gary was sure he would be entirely broken by now if all he ever did was study. Maybe his mom had a point about taking breaks... 

Eventually, Gary felt bold enough to ask for Miah’s phone number. It wasn’t like it had romantic connotations, Gary just didn’t feel like keeping Discord for the sole purpose of talking to Miah. Being flirtatious was the last thing on Gary’s mind, or so he hoped. Yeah, no flirting. Gary wasn’t even gay... Right? 

Much to Gary’s surprise, he didn’t even have to explain himself. Miah just… gave him his number. No questions asked. He supposed he should be thankful for it, seeing as Miah definitely would have teased him about it. Ah, another thing to add to the “things to avoid thinking about” list: why Gary enjoyed being teased by Miah.

After that, they started texting. Gary felt that texting was more personal than Discord, so he was happy to say his friendship with Miah might have been deepening even more. He started calling Miah while he was doing homework since it was easier than texting. Gary thought it might be weird at first, but it was just like Discord. He didn’t know why he thought it would be different; he didn’t actually know why he thought a lot of things. Miah was right: he was hopeless. 

After finals were over, Gary started preparing to go back to Hatchetfield for the summer. He decided that in celebration of surviving the year he would treat himself. That is to say, he got incredibly drunk. Gary had never had anybody to talk to when he was drunk, so he assumed that he was pretty tame. However, his phone with Miah in the contacts was right there... He had only intended on texting him, but within a minute Miah was calling him anyway.

“Hey, Gary, what's up?” he said (in his ratherattractive voice).

“Oh, nothing much. I’m just, uh, celebrating the end of the year, I guess.” Gary didn’t feel very eloquent at the moment, and he was beginning to question why he even texted Miah in the first place.

Miah laughed, which sounded like “ohohohoho”, before he continued. “Gary, you son of a bitch, you’re drunk right now, aren’t you?” 

Gary abruptly realized that he was doomed. The best option right now would be to hang up. He didn’t want to come across as rude, though… 

“You can’t prove anything. Innocent until proven guilty, or something like that…” He was supposed to be celebrating! He spends nine months out of a year thinking about innocent and guilty stuff, and now Miah was making him think about it even _more!_ Unbelievable.

“Okay, Gary. You’re the _law student_ here, whatever that means. Are you still drinking?” Gary heard him moving around on the other side of the line. He looked at the time on his phone and saw it was three in the morning. When had he started all of this?

“No, I ran out about twenty minutes ago. Did I wake you up?” Gary hoped he didn’t sound as pitiful as he thought he did. 

“Gary, you know better than anyone in the world that I survive off of coffee, not sleep.” 

Gary chuckled and tried to imitate Miah. “Grande caramel frappe in a venti cup with ten pumps of hazelnut, three shots of espresso, no caramel drizzle with whip on top.”

Miah reluctantly laughed. “Are you ever gonna get over that? And, also, is that what you think I sound like?”

Gary flushed and was reminded that he really liked Miah’s voice. Like, _really_ liked. Sometimes his voice appeared in Gary’s dreams, another thing he chose not to think about. 

“Gary? What did you just say about my voice?” Oh, fuck. 

“I don’t think I said anything- you must have imagined it.” He felt the blush creeping up the back of his neck. Thank _g_ _od_ Miah couldn’t see him. He would never hear the end of this as it was.

“No, no, you definitely said you liked my voice. _‘Really_ liked.’”

Gary sighed in relief. “Is that all I said?”

Miah huffed loudly. “Why? What else were you thinking?” Damn it.

“Actually, Miah, I think I have to go. Yep, I am about to puke as we’re speaking. What a silly drunkard I am! Yup. Byeee.” 

“Gary, I’m not gonna let this go. I swear to god, you better not-” His threat was cut off by Gary hanging up. Gary was definitely regretting his decision to not hang up earlier. Well, what’s done is done.

The next morning, when he was hungover and regretting the grand majority of his life decisions, he vowed to himself to never get drunk again. He probably wouldn’t keep to it, but the pain was still too recent to not do _something_ about it. He might have been a little dramatic, but when had any up-and-coming lawyer not been? 

On his flight home, he had a bit of time to think about things he had been trying not to think about. Perhaps a plane wasn’t the best place to think about how you _might_ be a little gay. Definitely not the best place to think about how you _might_ _be a little gay_ for your only friend. After having those two thoughts, he decided that he would handle that later. A nap would be better anyway. He was a tired, hungover law student, after all. 

Several hours later, Gary was home, lying in his bed. His mom had wanted to take him out for dinner, but he explained to her that he was drop-dead tired and would probably fall asleep during dinner. That was partially true, but he still felt bad not telling his mom the whole truth: he wanted to play Minecraft. So here there he was, laying on his bed with his laptop propped on some pillows. 

Jeremiah wasn’t on the server, but Gary really just needed to release some tension. He _finally_ carved out his own room, which made him a little sad for some reason. He tended to the underground farm and expanded it a bit. After he had done everything he could think of to do in the base, he went out and started killing people. His heart just wasn’t in it, though. 

He logged off and tried to sleep. For the second time that day, his attempt at sleep was interrupted. Gary had just shifted into a comfortable position when his phone rang. It startled him so much that he nearly fell off of his bed. When he got into a mentally stable enough position to answer it, he read the caller ID. He debated not answering it, but that really wasn’t an option. He sighed as he hit the little green circle on his phone.

“Hello?” Gary’s voice cracked from both anxiety and exhaustion. He couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Hey, Gare. Are you- Did I wake you up?”

Gary grinned despite himself. It was so nice to hear Miah’s voice again. He was so distracted by it that he almost forgot to answer.

“Oh, no. Well, yes, but I wasn’t really asleep so it’s fine. What’s up?”

“I was just going to ask if you wanted to play some Minecraft.” Gary heard him moving on the other side of the line. 

“I see. Why didn’t you just text me?” Gary felt like he was in danger just _asking_ that question.

"I think you know why, Goldstein.”


	2. need somebody to (minecraft) lava

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to everyone who has supported me during this fic! you all mean the world to me no homo ahahha. thank you to everyone who commented, bookmarked, and subscribed after chapter one! full homo to you guys. 
> 
> disclaimer this chapter has a lot more pining, can't stop the gays

“When did I tell you my last name? I don’t remember that. My mother would _not_ be happy to know I’m so intimate- maybe close is a better word- with someone I met on the Internet.”

Jeremiah wasn’t a cruel man. But- Gary’s _voice kink._ Greater men would have made fun of Gary for it. Greater men also wouldn’t be endeared by it. Sadly, Miah was not always the model of a “greater man.” He was just Jeremiah, who happened to be very nearly head-over-heels for the little lawyer.

Despite _that,_ Gary deserved at least a little shit for this. Gary definitely didn’t know how he sounded during their infamous Phone Call. Okay, _maybe_ Miah had a bit of a voice thing too, but it definitely just surfaced with Gary. God, imagine being turned on by a fucking law student. Miah was living his personal idea of a nightmare.

“You can stall all you want, Gary. It just makes you look like a typical law student. That is to say - a coward.”

“I’m not stalling and I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  
Miah thought it was, yeah, pretty cute how Gary’s voice went up an octave when he was lying. Or at least he _assumed_ that’s why his voice had gone up an octave. That was definitely the safest bet.

“Alright, Goldstein. We don’t have to talk about how you’re sexually attracted to my voice if you-”

“It’s not like that! Why does everything have to be like that?”

There it was.

“So you _do_ admit to saying it.”

“I guess. I was drunk, though! You can’t hold it against me.”  
  
“They say a drunk man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts.”

Gary was definitely one of the easiest people, possibly ever, to make fun of. Where a normal person would snipe back, Gary just got flustered. If the thought wasn’t so repetitive, Jeremiah might admit _that_ was cute too. 

Miah considered himself to be a rather intelligent guy. Whenever Gary was involved, though, his vocabulary consisted of the words _cute, adorable,_ and on occasion, _fuck._ That last one has been on his mind almost consistently since The Phone Call. 

Gary had apparently gone off on a rant about sobriety while Miah was zoned out. In that context, “zoned out” meant having inappropriate gay thoughts about his Minecraft friend. Whatever.

“-I think people should only be allowed to buy certain amounts of alcohol at a time to avoid injury, liver damage, damage to friendships via inner thoughts-”  
  
“Okay, Gary. We’ll find you an A.A. meeting later. Just get your ass on the server for now.”

Jeremiah was not freaking out. He had never freaked out. He was so chill, he didn’t even cry as a baby. If he were to freak out for the first time, though, it would have been in that moment. He needed to go over the facts in his head. He was on his lunch break. He was using part of his lunch break to take a shit in some nasty food court bathroom. While taking a shit, he was scrolling through Twitter on his phone. Sure, it was nasty, but the life of a broker was fast with few breaks. 

None of that was the bad part that would lead him to freaking out. That was just a normal day.

The freaking out comes in around there. He was checking a text from Gary and, fuck, accidentally Facetimed him.

That wouldn’t be an issue, but instead of hanging up, he went through that whole, unnecessary process in his head. And now Gary’s face was on his screen. His face was presumably on Gary’s screen as well. But the important part was that Gary’s face was on his phone screen, and Miah was not emotionally or physically prepared for that.

Whatever he was expecting, Gary wasn’t it. Yeah, he looked like a nerd with the fucking Harry Potter glasses. Past that? Damn it. His eyes were so blue that Miah could see their color, even through the pixelated screen caused by his shitty connection.

“Um, hello? Did you mean to call me?”

Possible answers to that question included, _“Damn, your eyes are pretty,”_ or, _“I’m mid-shit right now, what do you think?”_ Luckily, neither of those came out of his (traitorous) mouth. However, he just continued staring at Gary. Gary fucking Goldstein. 

“Are you okay, Miah?”  
  
“Oh, yeah! I just- Now isn’t the best time. I’m on my lunch break. I’m not sure why I called you.”

Well, that worked. 

Gary smiled at him and, shit, he looked like a model or something. He may not have been the most objectively attractive guy, but something about him just made Miah’s heart seize up like he was going to _die._ In fact, Miah was half-sure he was dead already.

“Well, if now isn’t a good time-”

“I think I’m having a heart attack.”  
  
“You’re- _What?”_

And that was the moment- not earlier when the call first started- when his (again, _traitorous_ ) fingers decided to hang up.

Despite the fact that he was needed back in the office in five, he just stayed in the bathroom. What the fuck had just happened? He was always so cool, calm, and collected. The last couple of minutes had been neither cool, calm, nor collected. Gary would probably never talk to him again. Had he noticed the fact that he was in a bathroom? He couldn’t decide whether he wanted to ever talk to Gary again or not. On one hand, he wouldn’t have to try to cover up whatever that conversation was if Gary blocked him on all platforms. However, on the other hand, Jeremiah was maybe, just a little bit, head over heels for the little law man.

The pros of knowing Gary outweighed the cons of explanation. He could, perhaps, say he was drunk. But that would mean not making fun of Gary about The Call anymore. Miah didn’t know if he could give that up. It was tough.

As he finally left the bathroom, he decided all of that could be Future Jeremiah’s problem. Past Jeremiah had fucked up, but Present Jeremiah just couldn’t be bothered. It struck him then that thinking of himself as three different entities might be a bit strange. Then again, he had picked up the habit from, you guessed it, Gary Goldstein. Gary was probably more than “a bit strange.”

Jeremiah stopped right before he reached the office. He _really_ needed to stop thinking about Gary so much. It was hard enough to stay focused as it was. Everyone in the office treated him like a baby who didn’t know shit- just because of his age. More often than not, instead of actually learning how the floor worked, he was running errands that most companies would have an (unpaid) intern do. Regardless, his boring-ass job wasn’t the place to be thirsting over some guy he met on the Internet. Seriously, if he didn’t have at least one safe-space with no Gary, his whole life would start to revolve around the guy. And, well, wouldn’t that be something?

  
Jeremiah really wasn’t sure whether he was happy Gary was in contact with him after The Facetime. (If they kept having these _instances,_ Miah was going to have to, internally, keep a catalogue of them.) Gary was positive that something weird was going on with Miah. Jeremiah, of course, said something along the lines of, _“You imagined it, Gare. You know I can’t be on my phone at work.”_ He was, naturally, better at lying and denying things than Gary was. While he knew Gary didn’t believe him, he continued to tell himself that he was _innocent until proven guilty._ And, well, Gary couldn’t prove shit.  
  
Miah could practically see the annoyed look on Gary’s face every time he denied his statements about The Facetime. That was the one good thing that came out of all of it: Miah was free to think about Gary, and now he knew what he looked like. He didn’t want to use the word “fantasize”, but if you were to define how he was thinking about Gary now… There’s only so many words in the dictionary.  
  
Despite his own personal— very, _very_ personal— fears of getting too attached to Gary Goldstein, soon to be attorney at law, Jeremiah just couldn’t put any distance between them. He also couldn’t talk about _certain things_ that were growing stronger and stronger everyday. He hoped and prayed, and then hoped again since he didn't really believe in prayer, that things would go away. He was just lonely. Maybe if he actually started dating again (for the first time), he would be able to get Gary and his stupid blue, blue eyes out of his head.

“Goldstein, get the fuck off of that island or _so help me_ I will beat your ass myself.”  
  
Bedwars was Gary’s favorite mini-game. Miah did _not_ understand why. He was awful at it. Most (all) of the time, Miah ended up carrying the team on his back. He wasn’t even entirely sure if Gary actually knew how the game worked, which was stupid since fucking nine-year-olds could figure it out. Then again, Gary was a law student, and they were the most idiotic group of people, like, ever.

“What? You’re going to beat my ass? How? We’re on the same team. We’re in different states. You cannot follow through on your threats.”

Miah snorted. “You really want to bet on that?”

Of course, the threat was empty. If Jeremiah was ever in a position to legitimately beat Gary’s ass, that would probably be one of, if not _the_ last thing he would be doing. It was not good for his mental health or his physical state to imagine being in close proximity with Gary, though, so he didn’t.

“I bet you couldn’t even beat my ass if you tried.”  
  
“What the hell makes you say that? Do I not seem _macho_ to you?”

Miah heard Gary giggle, yeah, _giggle,_ on the other side of the line. 

“No, no. I’m sure you’re a very strong man. I did not mean to offend your masculinity-”  
  
“Fuck off.”  
  
“But, you know, most people would have trouble beating my ass. I’m 6’1, so most people wouldn’t even think about beating the shit out of me. My growth spurt in eighth grade probably saved me a lot of bullying-”  
  
Miah zoned out. Did he hear that correctly? 6’1? Gary _had_ to be taking the piss. Miah was 5’9, maximum, and even that last inch was dependent on his shoes. Just like Gary’s eyes, his height seemed utterly uncharacteristic. He just seemed like he should be, y’know, short.

He shook his head to clear it, because that makes sense. His brain was getting outrageous! Zoning out on Gary while _talking to Gary._ Absolute bullshit. 

“Who’s getting their ass kicked now?”  
  
Miah returned his focus to the task at hand, Minecraft, and found that he was… dead. This was just getting better and better.

“Have you ever thought about meeting me?”

The question came on an otherwise unremarkable day near the end of July. Jeremiah would have sold at _least_ one of his testicles to know what got Gary thinking about it. Of course, though, that was not an option. All he could do was answer the stupid question. He couldn’t even do _that_ with full honesty. Certain cats were not ready to be let out of certain bags.

“I met you already, dumbass. Remember? Factions? You being a fucking idiot?” It was weak, but it worked.  
  
“Not- Not like _that_. I meant, like, in person. Have you ever thought about us meeting, you meeting me, me meeting you, in person?”  
  
If Miah wasn’t so pessimistic, he might have let himself believe that Gary sounded nervous. Then again, it _was_ Gary. Gary Goldstein, the man who was afraid of elevators and certain shades of green. He got nervous over, quite literally, everything.

“Why? Are you thinking about it?”  
  
“No! No. No?”  
  
Miah sighed to cover his amusement. He didn’t want to hurt the little- but actually big- guy’s feelings.

“Gare, you obviously were. You wouldn’t have brought this up if you weren’t thinking about it.”  
  
The line went silent. Miah checked to see if the call had disconnected but, alas, the connection was fine. Gary was just being a little shit.

“Gary? What’s up?” Miah almost gagged at the tenderness in his voice. Since when did he even _have_ a tender voice? And why did it have to show up _now,_ of all times? He could think of several instances where it might have been more helpful.

“My mom is driving me back to school in a couple of weeks and- Well, we’re going to be driving through New York. But if you don’t want to-”  
  
“No! I didn’t mean it like that earlier. I was just- I was just teasing you. Meeting up would be… fun,” Miah sputtered. Well, if he had to expose himself as a fucking idiot, at least he had done it well. 

Five minutes later, they had plans to meet up. In New York City. “They” meaning Gary. And Jeremiah. And presumably Gary’s mother. Oh, Jesus, he was _meeting the parents…_

He should have denied the visit. It was going to be the death of him- he just knew it. Gary and his blue eyes and his stupid hair and annoying height. In person. Gary will be within walking distance of where Miah slept every night. It was fucking weird to look at it like that, but it definitely did _something_ to him. 

If Miah managed to survive the next couple weeks, it would be nothing short of a miracle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading!  
> if you liked this, i would like to, pointedly, say that comments and kudos feed me-- and that there is a sequel in progress! you can check me out on [tumblr](https://whatsshakingbanana.tumblr.com/) for more of my dumb humor and maybe fic updates.
> 
> [[will put this here too: as of 2/10/21- there are two(?) more chapters in progress for this fic. be still my beating heart]]


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> gary in new york. who else lives in new york?? you guessed it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alrighty so. hi! its been 7 months since i updated, 8 months since i started this fic. i never had any intentions of letting this sit as a wip for so long, but i guess it is too late for that apology. anyway!!! have a chapter that is almost entirely dialogue.
> 
> happy valentine's days,, fools. thank u jason for reading this over n saying nice things. BIGGEST thank u to nicool for listening to me talk about this for the last eight months and not snapping my neck <3

Gary was going to piss himself. 

Maybe, probably, _hopefully_ not, but he was so excited and nervous that he felt like he was going to absolutely explode. He looked over at his mother. She was oblivious to his dilemma, focusing instead on navigating New York City traffic. It was nice of her to do this. He didn’t tell Miah that he usually just flew back to school. Miah probably knew that though; Gary could only imagine the teasing he would endure. _Did you come all this way to see me? You just couldn’t stay away from my voice, you kinky bastard. You’re_ hopeless.

Gary shuddered and tried to get out of his head. Over the past few weeks, he had realized why Miah annoyed him so much, and it was not good, to say the least. Miah bothered him a lot, but Gary had realized that it was a different _type_ of bothered than initially thought. 

And now Gary was within minutes, or hours (thanks, New York City traffic), of meeting him. He wasn’t _dreading_ it, necessarily. He just knew Miah was going to be disappointed in him. It was stupid. It wasn’t like Gary had fabricated any part of himself. He tried to be as authentic as he could whenever they were talking, or texting, or FaceTiming.

Yeah! FaceTime. It was a new development in their… friendship. Miah had started it. Gary knew it was an accident, but now they had seen each other for real and he just _had_ to see Miah again. Gary felt like he communicated better when he was talking face-to-face, or face-to-screen, or whatever. Granted, most of his friendship with Jeremiah had cultivated without _that,_ but it felt even stronger now.

Miah was Gary’s best friend, online and otherwise. Gary’s traitorous heart still sped up at any thought of him, and he wasn’t quite stupid enough to remain oblivious about what _that_ meant. He’d thought about it long and hard, though, and he decided that he would just have to stop liking Miah like that. Gary had never had a best friend before, and if all the WikiHow and Quora and Yahoo Answers articles were correct, he had to keep his feelings at bay for the sake of the friendship. (Or tell him and risk it all - but Gary wasn’t too sure about that.)

Gary’s inner-monologue was interrupted by the car stopping. _Actually_ stopping, not just stopping for stupid New York traffic. His mom was gesturing for him to get out of the car so she could keep going. They had argued about it beforehand, but Gary ultimately convinced his mom he didn’t need her to stay with him. He was, for lack of better phrasing, a big boy.

As soon as he got out of the car, the imminent piss feeling was back in full strength. It could’ve been because, yeah, New York City smelled like piss. It was entirely possible, though, that _he_ had pissed himself, just a little. Both, maybe? The world may never know. He was too anxious and excited to worry about it.

The coffee shop was right there. The one he was meeting Miah at. Maybe he was being too sentimental, but he pulled his phone out to snap a quick picture of the building. Everything felt so… rushed. That was the word. Gary was the only one not moving. People raced around him, in a hurry to go places that he probably didn’t even know about. Miah could be one of these people. He probably does this every day. It was strange, but it definitely fit his personality. 

Gary allowed himself one last deep breath before entering the shop. The bell dinged threateningly as he opened the door. It was quiet inside, an oasis from the chaos of the outside city. His inner-monologue must be feeling pretty poetic today to have come up with a comparison like that.

The walls of the shop were brick and covered in newspaper articles. He couldn’t read any of them from this distance, even with his glasses on. (Damn you, nearsightedness.) There were mismatched rugs all over the ground, with bits of cracking concrete peeking out from between them. The seating arrangements included a loveseat, a couch, and four tables of varying size. There were a couple people around Gary’s age, probably also college students, scattered across the shop. 

No Miah yet, though. Gary pulled out his phone and texted him, saying that he had arrived. His fingers might have been shaking a little as he typed, but no one was there to point it out so it didn’t count.

He approached the counter and ordered himself an iced coffee, which fit the weather outside quite nicely. Gary hesitated a moment before ordering what he knew to be Miah’s typical order as well. Grande caramel frappe in a venti cup with ten pumps of hazelnut, three shots of espresso, no caramel drizzle with whip on top… Very sugary. There was no way that the order was healthy.

The barista hadn’t even finished making the drinks when what looked like a cyclone rushed into the shop. It was, of course, Gary’s _dear_ friend Jeremiah. Gary had situated himself on the love-seat, and Miah definitely hadn’t spotted him yet, so he was free to, ah, admire. Miah’s hair was tossed into a messy bun, several honey-colored strands loose around his face. He wore a trench-coat and a scarf with frayed ends. Gary knew what he looked like, of course, but it had never occurred to him that it might hit, well, _differently_ seeing him in real life. 

Of course, a flush was crawling up his neck and face when Miah finally found him. They sort of just stared at each other for a minute, before Gary looked down and decided to break the silence.

“I ordered your coffee,” he said sheepishly. 

Miah looked at him blankly for a moment before shaking his head.. “Of course you did. What a _gentleman_ you are, Goldstein,” he sighed. “Trying to win over my heart?”  
  
Gary, still flushed, felt like he was going to pass out. Excuse his language, but _God-fucking-damn-it._ Why had he not thought of _this?_ The fucking voice. It haunted Gary throughout all of his life, his dreams, his nightmares. He was just trying to grab coffee with a friend, but _no,_ he just had to “have a thing” for Miah’s voice. It was infuriating. 

Throughout that thought process, Miah had come to sit on the couch next to the loveseat. He had a smirk on his face, as if he already knew what he was doing. Bastard.

“How did you know this was my favorite place to sit? It’s perfect for people-watching, right?” Miah relaxed into the couch, arms stretched wide. Gary could reach and touch him, which was an awful thought that he really should not entertain.

“I- Yeah,” was all Gary could say. His voice was gone. He didn’t know what happened to it, but he felt just like Ariel from _The Little Mermaid._ Miah would probably (definitely) make fun of him if he knew Gary was comparing himself to a Disney princess. 

Miah seemed perfectly content with holding a conversation with himself. “Was the drive good? You’ve still got a bit to go, I guess. This is just a pit-stop. A rendezvous point. How was the traffic?”  
  
Miah was trying to make small-talk. Gary swallowed and prayed for some supernatural being to take him. God, Satan, Zeus, Odin, whoever. All that came, though, was the barista delivering their coffees. Gary immediately took a long sip, grateful that it was iced. He actually had a fear of hot coffee. (He had burnt his tongue too many times, and there was the horror story about that woman in the McDonald’s getting third degree burns from a hot coffee spill.)

Gary tried, he really did, to reel his thoughts back in. Miah was still sitting on the couch, except now he was _licking the whipped cream_ off the top of his drink. Gary was entirely taken aback.

“What the fuck are you doing?” His voice only cracked once.

Miah glanced at him through his eyelashes, unbothered. “Getting a reaction, apparently. What the fuck are _you_ doing, Goldstein?”

Gary stuttered. “I- You- That’s…”  
  
Miah looked at him expectantly, while somehow still looking incredibly bored.

“That’s not how you drink coffee!” Gary finally spat out, albeit louder than he intended. None of the other people in the quiet shop spared him a glance, though. Just Miah.

“This is how _I_ drink coffee. Everyday, I come in and lick the whipped cream off of it.” He paused to demonstrate. “It makes the drink too sweet if it mixes in.”

Gary unconsciously bit down on the paper straw that was in his drink. “Why do you even _get_ whipped cream in it, then?”

"For fun," he said with a slurp, finishing off the whipped cream. "Does it bother you?"

He let out an indignant yelp, which probably answered the question on its own, but Gary still screeched, "No!"

Miah smirked. "No?"

Gary breathed out deeply. He never should have agreed to this meeting. Or was he the one who suggested it? It all evaded his memory as he noticed a dollop of whipped cream stuck in Miah's stubble (He had _stubble!_ He could grow a _beard,_ probably!). 

"No- Well," he cut himself off, unable to _not_ point it out. "You've got a little something-" He gestured vaguely at Miah's chin and handed him a napkin.

"Oh." As Miah dabbed his face blindly with a napkin, the splotch of whipped cream evaded him. 

"Here-" Gary sighed, leaning over the armrest of the loveseat without a second thought.

He lightly grasped Miah's hand with his own to direct the napkin to the spot. Though it might have been him, Gary could have sworn he heard Miah's breath hitch. It struck him from this angle that Miah had light wrinkles overshadowing his face. From a distance, they could not be seen, but so close… 

"Um," Miah interrupted his thought process.

Gary leaned back, sputtering. “Sorry,” he said earnestly, rubbing the back of his flushing neck.

Miah looked him dead in the eye for a moment, and Gary couldn’t tell if he was about to be verbally abused or kissed.

Naturally, it was the verbal abuse option. Damn it.

“You fuckin’ weirdo,” Miah said, chuckling. But his tone was gruff, out of breath. 

Gary was probably just reading into things. Definitely just reading into things.

He tried to collect himself. “So… What do you do around here?”

Miah gave him an unimpressed glance as he sipped his coffee. “What do I do around here? In New York City?”

He flushed in response, feeling teased, but decided to go with it. “I- Yeah! As an NYC native, you should know all the fun things to do around here!”  
  
“I’m not an NYC native.” Miah quirked a bushy eyebrow at him. “I was born in Michigan.”  
  
“Wh- _Michigan?_ The state I’m from?” Gary couldn’t hide his curiosity. 

“You’re not the only person from Michigan in the world, Gary.”  
  
“Well, yeah! But how come you never told me?” Gary felt something akin to hurt at the fact that Miah had kept such a _crucial_ part of his history from him.

“I don’t know, Gary. It never came up.” He suddenly seemed very interested in a loose button on his coat.

“Never? In all the months we’ve been… talking?”  
  
Miah smirked at him. “Not once.”

“Jeremiah!” Gary whined. “I have brought up the fact that I am Michigan-born at _least_ fifty times when talking to you. All you had to say was, ‘Oh, me too, by the way, you’re a fucking idiot!’, or something like that.”  
  
“Am I really that mean to you? Was the ‘fucking idiot’ detail necessary?”  
  
“You are, but I don’t really mind.” Gary paused, briefly distracted by a montage playing in his head of all the times Miah had insulted, teased, and verbally assaulted him. His attention snapped back quickly, though. “That’s not what we’re talking about, though! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You like when I make fun of you, Goldstein?” Miah looked like he was holding back a laugh. “What, do you have a degradation ki-”  
  
“ _Miah!”_ Gary pleaded, maybe a little too loudly. 

“Sorry, Gare, but talking about my Michigan days wasn’t on the agenda for today.” For a moment, something flashed in Miah’s eyes. Worry? It was gone by the time Gary recognized it. “Politely, I don’t really want to fucking talk about that.”  
  
Gary frowned a little. How mysterious. Miah seemed serious, though, so Gary opted to change the topic. “What _was_ on the agenda for today? And you never answered me, what do you like to do around here?”  
  
Miah seemed slightly relieved, his whole body losing a level of tension Gary hadn’t even noticed was there. “I am _glad_ you asked, Goldstein. I have a whole hour or two of things planned out for us to do.”  
  
Gary’s eyes shot up to Miah’s. Did he _actually_ have plans, or was he just winging it? Either way, he couldn’t help feeling touched at the thought that Miah actually wanted to hang out with him. That was probably a pathetic thought, but Gary was taking whatever he could get.

“Oh yeah? Are you going to show me the-” He paused to make dramatic hand motions- “ _Big apple?”_

Miah chuckled. “Sure, Gary. I’ll show you the ‘Big Apple.’ I’ll also show you the Subway station that I think smells the most like piss, and I’ll take you to a food truck that gave me salmonella.”  
  
Gary shined brightly at Miah and replied, with full honesty, “I’ve never been more excited.”  
  
A soft look crept into Miah’s eyes, and for once, it didn’t go away. “Me neither, Gare. Me neither.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you SO much for reading, and lots of appreciation to anyone who could have possibly been waiting this long. i wouldve given up on me by now. i promise the last chapter will be up sooner.
> 
> as always,, comments and kudos are appreciated :^) check me out on [tumblr](whatsshakingbanana.tumblr.com)!

**Author's Note:**

> i never finished this can you tell?? i might write a chapter two, or maybe a sequel. this fic took fifteen years off of my life.


End file.
